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TU‐CD‐207‐04: Radiation Exposure Comparisons of CESM with 2D FFDM and 3D Tomosynthesis Mammography
Author(s) -
James J,
Boltz T,
Pavlicek W
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.4925623
Subject(s) - mammography , imaging phantom , digital mammography , nuclear medicine , tomosynthesis , dosimetry , breast cancer , breast tissue , medicine , cancer
Purpose: While mammography is considered the standard for front‐line breast cancer screening, image sensitivity and specificity can be affected by factors like dense breast tissue. Contrast‐enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) shows promising initial results for dense breasts but comes at the cost of increased dose compared with full‐field‐digital‐mammography (FFDM). The goal of this study is to quantitatively assess the dose increase of CESM in comparison with 2D‐FFDM and 3D‐Tomo at varying breast thickness. Methods: The experiments were conducted on a Hologic‐Selenia‐Dimensions system that performed 2D‐FFDM, 3D‐Tomo and CESM (high and low energies) on regular (50/50) and dense (70/30) breast tissue‐mimicking phantoms. Both the phantoms had 6, 1‐cm thick slabs (total thickness 6cm), compressed at 20‐lbs using an 18×24 paddle. A single exposure was performed for each of the 3 mammo techniques with the following settings: AEC‐Auto; Focal Spot‐Large; kVp‐Auto; mAs‐ Auto, Target/Filter combination‐Auto; AEC Sensor/Exposure compensation Step‐2/0. Average glandular dose (AGD) in mGy was obtained and compared as a function of breast thickness (1 – 6 cm) for both the phantom types. Results: The study shows that dose from the total CESM from 50/50 phantom at a breast thickness of a) 4.5 cm was 37.5% higher than 2D‐FFDM and 30% higher than 3D‐Tomo, b) 6 cm was 36.2% higher than 2D‐FFDM and 41% higher than 3D‐Tomo. For a dense breast tissue of 70/30 phantom, it was found that CESM dose at a breast thickness of: a) 4.5 cm was 33.3% higher than 2D‐FFDM and 28.8% higher than 3D‐Tomo, b) 6 cm was 35.4% higher than 2D‐FFDM and 48.0% higher than 3D‐Tomo. The overall CESM dose for the dense breast phantom was 12.5% higher at 4.5cm and 35% higher at 6 cm compared to the 50/50 phantom. Conclusion: This quantitative comparison study showed that CESM technique has an increased radiation dose compared to conventional 2D‐FFDM and 3D‐Tomo.